Issue - meetings

Housing Portfolio

To consider report SHAP/81 of the Head of Strategic Housing Services, which was referred to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission held on 28 June 2021.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet:

a)         delegates authority to the Head of Strategic Housing Services, following discussion with any relevant Ward Councillors and in consultation with, and agreement in-principle from the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Housing to identify suitable sites.  (Generic Delegation 7 will be used to enact this recommendation)

b)         delegates authority to the Head of Strategic Housing Services to progress with procurement to address the need for temporary accommodation.  (Generic Delegation 7 will be used to enact this recommendation).

c)         delegates authority to the Leader of the Council in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, Head of Strategic Housing Services, Head of Legal, Governance and HR to approve the award of the contract following an appropriate procurement process.

d)         delegates the negotiation, approval and completion of all relevant legal documentation, following the awarding of the contracts to the Head of Strategic Housing Services, Head of Legal, Governance and HR, Head of Corporate Finance, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Housing.  (Generic Delegations 2 & 3 will be used to enact this recommendation)

Reasons for the Recommendations

The Council currently has 265 households in temporary accommodation, with 97 of these presently in nightly paid accommodation, including 26 out of borough placements. This represents the highest level of need and demand for temporary accommodation across the County. These levels will inevitably rise significantly with the lifting of the ban on evictions.

The average cost of nightly paid accommodation to the council per household per week is £211.50 equating to £21,154.00 per week for current numbers (rent arrears and ineligibility for benefits not included in this figure). There are also the additional costs and burdens on Housing Benefit to process and pay the associated claims.

Nightly paid temporary accommodation is the most expensive and least desirable form of accommodation, particularly where there are children in the household and as a result, such households can only be placed into this type of accommodation in an emergency, and then only for a maximum period of six weeks.

A raft of measures are being progressed both locally and at a county-wide level to reduce the pressure on nightly paid accommodation. This report is focused on one of these work strands, namely the modular housing solution with its rapid pace of delivery.

The Council has recently secured £600k capital funding from the Government towards the provision of 10 additional units as part of a temporary housing pathway to support the prevention of homelessness and rough sleeping. Linked to this capital grant is a further £240k in revenue funding that has been awarded over a 3-year period to provide wrap around support services. The grant conditions require these units to be delivered within the current financial year or this funding will be lost.

Due to the volumetric design concept of modular housing, it is necessary to first select the particular modular provider. The scheme is then designed in accordance with their volumetric design, and progressed through  ...  view the full decision text for item 10

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented report SHAP/81 of the Head of Strategic Housing Services.  The report requested that the Cabinet approves the delegated authority for officers to progress with the procurement of a modular housing solution for the provision of urgently needed temporary accommodation, to negotiate and complete all relevant legal documentation, and for the appropriate delegation required for the Leader to enter into the necessary contracts.

Councillor T Belben presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission’s comments on the report to the Cabinet following consideration of the matter at its meeting on 28 June 2021, which included:

·         Further explanation provided on the structure, standard and assembly of the modular units.

·         Confirmation provided that the scheme and sites would require planning permission and need to abide by the usual planning considerations.  There was support for the consultation with relevant ward members.

·         Recognition that sites had not been yet been identified but consultation with ward members would take place at an appropriate stage of the site identification process.  It was noted that the sites and locations should aim to create a space to improve physical and mental wellbeing.

Councillor C Mullins spoke as part of the discussion on the report including commenting that he had been with Councillor Irvine to a site visit to see some examples of the proposed modular housing solution, and commented that the products were impressive and allayed any concerns he might have had over the quality of the proposed temporary accommodation solution.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet:

a)         delegates authority to the Head of Strategic Housing Services, following discussion with any relevant Ward Councillors and in consultation with, and agreement in-principle from the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Housing to identify suitable sites.  (Generic Delegation 7 will be used to enact this recommendation)

b)         delegates authority to the Head of Strategic Housing Services to progress with procurement to address the need for temporary accommodation.  (Generic Delegation 7 will be used to enact this recommendation).

c)         delegates authority to the Leader of the Council in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, Head of Strategic Housing Services, Head of Legal, Governance and HR to approve the award of the contract following an appropriate procurement process.

d)         delegates the negotiation, approval and completion of all relevant legal documentation, following the awarding of the contracts to the Head of Strategic Housing Services, Head of Legal, Governance and HR, Head of Corporate Finance, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Housing.  (Generic Delegations 2 & 3 will be used to enact this recommendation)

Reasons for the Recommendations

The Council currently has 265 households in temporary accommodation, with 97 of these presently in nightly paid accommodation, including 26 out of borough placements.  This represents the highest level of need and demand for temporary accommodation across the County.  These levels will inevitably rise significantly with the lifting of the ban on evictions.

The average cost of nightly paid accommodation to the council per household per  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10

To consider report SHAP/81 of the Head of Strategic Housing Services.

The Commission considered report SHAP/81 of the Head of Strategic Housing Services.  The report requested Cabinet to approve the delegated authority for officers to progress with the procurement of a modular housing solution for the provision of urgently needed temporary accommodation. To negotiate and complete all relevant legal documentation, and for the appropriate delegation required for the Leader to enter into the necessary contracts.

During the discussion with the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Housing Enabling and Development Manager, the following comments were made:

·        Further explanation provided on the structure, standard and assembly of the modular units.

·        Confirmation provided that the scheme and sites would require planning permission and need to abide by the usual planning considerations.  There was support for the consultation with relevant ward members.

·        Recognition that the modular housing solution would provide savings in terms of construction, footprint and time.  It offered versatility of use such as using ‘air-space’ above car-parks or garages. The formation of a scheme would result in faster occupation and rental income.

·        Acknowledgement that the council had a programme for providing affordable housing and whilst these units were designed for a minimum of 60 years it was felt that the maximum stay would be approximately 3 years as they offered a pathway to independent living, and assisted in addressing the need for temporary accommodation.   It was felt that the modular housing solution could potentially alter the perception of temporary housing, and may in the future offer a rapid solution to affordable housing.

·        Confirmation that the units were of a high standard, similar to Passivhaus and therefore the running costs were lower.

·        It was verified that the units would be protected from RTB (whilst used as temporary accommodation).

·        Recognition that sites had not been yet been identified but consultation with Ward Members would take place at an appropriate stage of the site identification process.  It was noted that the sites and locations should aim to create a space to improve physical and mental wellbeing.

·        Explanation was obtained on the financial details provided within the report.

RESOLVED

That the Commission notes the report and requests that the views expressed during the debate, are fed back to the Cabinet through the Commission’s Comment sheet.